In its current form, concrete recycling does little to help climate protection. The CO₂-intensive cement is lost irretrievably in the process. Boltshauser Architekten are working with a consortium from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain on the Respira research project to investigate how this can be avoided.
Concrete floor slabs have the largest carbon footprint of all building elements. In the past, the material was lost irretrievably during demolition. A Swiss consortium is now cutting standard square slabs from buildings due for demolition and using them to manufacture prestressed segmental concrete elements with a higher structural performance than new reinforced concrete.
Sergio Sebastián discusses the restoration of the Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sijena. How does he recreate the atmosphere without idealising a particular era?
Diezinger Architekten has transformed Nuremberg's Dreieinigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) into the GoHo Cultural Church. It is not only church services, christenings, and classical concerts that happen here; metal gigs are also welcome.
Seen from the air, the Brusk exhibition building looks like a spaceship that has made a stopover in Bruges' Old Town. From a pedestrian's perspective, it barely stands out in the cityscape. Paul Robbrecht explains why the building was constructed at this location and how its design relates to the neighbourhood.
A staircase in a private garden in Genoa demonstrates just how simple grand gestures in architecture can be sometimes. Fabrizio Polimone of Caarpa on the Scala San Filippo.